


Peace Treaties

by demonchild026



Series: Merlin fics [3]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canon Era, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt Merlin (Merlin), Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Magic Revealed, Pining, Protective Arthur
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-09
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2020-11-28 06:42:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20962175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demonchild026/pseuds/demonchild026
Summary: Merlin, Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table are on their way to Gawant, to sign a new peace treaty. However, Gawant is a place of magic. Maybe it was a little unrealistic for Merlin to assume he could stay undercover for long.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Set before Camlann, but after Arthur becomes king. Probably won't fit the timeline of the series perfectly but I'll put anything important in the notes. 
> 
> Lancelot is still alive. I guess the events of The Darkest Hour (4.1 and 4.2) never happened? IDK.
> 
> If you see any mistakes (plot, spelling, anything) please tell me!

Merlin barged into Arthurs room as per normal, practically kicking down the door as he carried the King’s breakfast. Careful not to spill anything, he placed the tray on the desk and walked over to the bed.

“Up and at em’ Sire!” Merlin grinned as Arthur groaned and flipped to the other side of the bed. Grabbing the blanket, Merlin pulled as hard as he could, dragging Arthur to the floor with a yelp.

“Merlin! Leave me alone will you? Can’t I ever just sleep in?!”

“It’s a busy day today Sire! No one gets to sleep in!” Arthur gave a deep sigh as he lobbed a conveniently placed goblet at Merlin’s head.

Merlin laughed, ducked then ran after the dented goblet. Would Arthur ever lose this violent habit of his? He placed it on the desk and made a mental reminder to sort out the ruined goblet later. After quickly helping Arthur dress (must be so difficult being a king, they don’t even have the mental capacity to dress themselves), Merlin began to tidy the room, making the bed after picking up the scattered blankets and pillows.

“Merlin, is everything ready to leave?”

“All ready and waiting in the courtyard. Checked just before I came here,” Merlin said. He had been up earlier than normal today preparing everything. It was an important trip and he didn’t want it to start with Arthur grumpy, grumpier than usual anyway, if he was going to be ridding for the better part of a week with him. He knew Arthur wanted to arrive on the fourth day, he had even decided to cut the party only Lancelot, Gwaine, Percival, Elyan, Leon and of course Merlin, rather than a larger group of knights. It was quite amusing to watch the argument between some of the other knights when they were told.

“Good, good.”

Less than an hour later, Merlin found himself in the courtyard, saying his goodbyes. After a friendly kiss on the cheek from Gwen and a warning to be careful from Gaius, the group set off.

It was not an hour later before Arthur considered sending Gwaine back. Could he do that? He’s the king after all, and it wouldn’t do for him to rip his ears off in frustration after listening to Gwaine talk for another 3 days. Plus, the rest of the knights might object – they seemed perfectly happy to listen to Gwaine telling the stories of his travels.

And if he did send Gwaine back, he would miss out on Merlin’s snarky remarks. If he was being honest, that was the best part of anyone’s stories. Merlin seemed to say the funniest things, and Arthur’s laughter at those would convince anyone that he was enjoying listening to the conversation. Of course, that wouldn’t be true. Of course.

“Hey Arthur, you haven’t told any stories yet! Tell us something,” Elyan suggested.

“I don’t think I’ve heard Arthur tell a story in a long time,” Percival commented. It was true – Arthur usually avoided doing so. He didn’t have many stories that the knights couldn’t tell better, and those he did he usually didn’t want to tell.

“That’s because I don’t have any good stories, Elyan. Anything that may have made a good story, Merlin ruins with his idiocy.”

“Excuse me! What have I ever done!?” squeaked Merlin.

“Every single hunting trip you fall over and scare all of the animals in Camelot. You always trip over or make some sort of noise when we are specifically trying to do the opposite and in doing so get us caught, need I go on?” Arthur gave an evil smile.

“Hey! I can’t help being clumsy, and it's you who forces me to come on every trip of yours because you wouldn’t last a day without me!”

“Don’t flatter yourself, Merlin. You simply make sure we can focus on the important and difficult jobs by doing the things anyone could do,” Arthur said, the mischievous grin only growing wider. Another thing he liked about Merlin: he was so easy to bait.

“Oh yeah? You guys can cook tonight then, and I’ll sit back and watch.”

“Think again Merlin. The Knights and I have things to do, don’t we?”

“Of course, Sire,” Gwaine answered.

“Definitely,” Leon added with a grin on his face.

“Maybe your all too busy being _prats_!” Merlin muttered.

“What’s that Merlin? Can’t hear you!” Arthur snickered.

When they stopped for the evening, Merlin was tired. He was never very keen on riding all day, and especially not when Arthur made it his mission to push them forward at a break-neck pace. The first time in a while where they did actually have time to spare without anyone dying, and he refused to take advantage of it. Perhaps if Merlin fell dead here and now, he would be free of it. But Arthur might manage to drag him back just so he had to endure it. He was cruel like that.

When dinner was served and plates cleaned, bedrolls set up and fire going at a point where they wouldn’t have to touch it until they put it out, Merlin went to go lay down. Sleep seemed to evade him, despite the silence that quickly fell over the camp. He shifted so he was looking at the stars.

During their stop for lunch, Arthur had taken the chance to give a warning. They were heading to Gawant, and unless the wanted to take a massive detour, that meant travelling through the Valley of the Fallen Kings. Despite all of Merlin’s influence, Arthur was still his father’s son. He still had his prejudice against magic and he still was wary of it.

It made Merlin a little sad to hear Arthur giving the warning, but he tried not to show it. Afterwards, Lancelot gave him a sympathetic smile and a few comforting words, but it didn’t really help. It was nice to know that he had someone to support him with problems of magic though.

When morning came, the group ate and quickly headed off again. Merlin might have been a little disappointed to find that Arthur was still determined to keep the pace, but he found other things that needed complaining about more. One of those being Taliesin.

The forest was quiet – too quiet. There were no birds singing as there had been before, and even the wind had slowed and the trees stood deathly still, as though they were statues. Merlin would never have noticed, but he had never been a very good hunter. Arthur stopped his horse and put his hand out, a silent cue for the Knights to do the same.

“Who’s there?” He said.

A figure walked into the Knight’s line of vision. He was old, with a short white beard.

“Declare yourself.”

“I am Taliesin. And you are Arthur Pendragon.”

Suddenly his eyes flashed an orange-gold and for a moment he seemed to flicker. Merlin could feel his magic surround him, its slightly calming presence wrapping around the trees and the very air. Merlin hadn’t felt such pure, calm magic in a long time. That wasn’t really odd though, the only magic in Camelot was the magic that existed everywhere and the magic of sorcerers hell-bent of the extinction of the Pendragon family.

“You are a sorcerer.” Arthur pulled his sword out, and the action was repeated among the Knights.

“I mean you no harm.”

“You are on Camelot lands. Magic is illegal here.”

“And yet this place is rich in magic. One man’s decision will not change that, and nor will it change the fact that I have magic.”

“Then you leave me no choice.” Arthur took a step forward.

Suddenly Taliesin’s eye flashed orange and every sword fell to the ground with a thump. Merlin heard the knights gasp and they hurried to pick them back up. Taliesin shifted his eyes towards Merlin, before speaking to him as the druids did.

_“Emrys, will you come with me? There is something I must show you.”_

Merlin hesitated, but said, _“I will come, but I cannot leave Arthur for long.”_

_“I understand. This will not take long.” _

With a quick spell, both Taliesin and Merlin vanished, to reappear in front of a cave. Merlin followed as Taliesin walked in, a little confused. They entered what could almost be a passage, but when they reached the end, Merlin gasped.

“What is this place?” Merlin asked, his eyes darting around the cave. It was dark but covered in faintly glowing blue crystals that illuminated the cavern enough to see. He could feel magic – it was so thick in the air, it almost didn’t seem real.

“This is where magic began. It is the crystal cave.”

Merlin had heard of it before. Uther had been searching for it since the purge - the crystals were told to show the future.

“Why did you bring me here?” Merlin asked.

“The time of your destiny draws closer. Look into the crystals, really look. Use what you see for good.” When Merlin turned to face Taliesin, he was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

When Merlin stumbled out of the cave, he ran. Ran as far as he could before his legs gave out, tears streaming down his face. He paid no attention to his surroundings as he stumbled through the undergrowth, tripping over rocks and leaves and branches and anything and everything that his feet found. 

He guessed he had been in there for only an hour, perhaps less, but it felt like an eternity. An eternity of terrible images and terrifying futures.

He stopped running and dragged himself over to a rock to sit. He needed to calm down.

Putting all thoughts of the cave out of his mind, he took deep breaths and wiped the tears away. Arthur couldn’t see him like this. If he did, he would have to explain what happened. He would pretend Taliesin had just taken him somewhere and disappeared. Luckily for Merlin, Arthur believed those sorts of things – after all, who knows what motivates a sorcerer?

He needed to find Arthur.

Merlin stood and spotted a small stream. He walked over and washed his face before stopping and looking around. He had seen this place before. They had passed the same oddly formed tree only twenty minutes before they met Taliesin. He grinned.

He set off in a sprint, following the path that they had taken. “Arthur!”

“Arthur!” Merlin finally reached the place they had met Taliesin. He looked around, but no one seemed to be there. Were they trying to find him?

Or did they leave him?

Merlin sat down. If he wandered the forest looking for them, they would probably just drift further away from each other. Maybe he could…

“Geriht læc me, Arthur Pendragon” he whispered into the water of the stream. He watched as the reflection of his eyes turned a brilliant gold.

The water faded into a forest. He could see Arthur and the rest of the knights walking around. They seemed to be shouting something into the forest, not to anyone in particular. Merlin scanned the area. As quick as he could he memorised the landmarks, then stood and began looking.

It only took ten minutes before he recognised a large rock. “ARTHUR!” He shouted, hoping he was still somewhere near.

“Merlin?!”

Merlin turned around at the sound of Arthur’s voice to see him sprinting towards him. Merlin gasped in surprise as Arthur immediately enveloped him in a hug. He quickly realised the knights were there and pulled out.

“Are you ok? What happened?” Arthur asked. His eyes scanned Merlin for any injuries.

“I’m fine. I think the sorcerer just teleported me away from you guys. I didn’t see him after he did it either,” Merlin lied.

“Why would he do that?” Arthur mumbled.

Leon moved closer. “Merlin, how long do you think it’s been since he cast the spell?”

“Um, less than two hours, but more than one and a half. I’m not really sure.”

“Hmm, that’s about right.” Percival looked over to Arthur, “Maybe he just wanted to split us up, or maybe slow us down?”

“You might be right. We should get going then. Be on alert.”

They travelled all day, Arthur constantly on high alert. Merlin wished he could tell him that they had nothing to worry about, but he couldn’t. Taliesin might not want to hurt them, but others certainly did. Lancelot must have noticed Merlin’s worrying, because after everyone had eaten and the dishes were washed, Lancelot volunteered to keep watch.

Lancelot knew by now that it a normal thing for Merlin to stay up a bit later than the rest of the nights. There was always something on Merlin’s mind. When everyone else had fallen asleep, he brought him away from the knights and whispered, “Merlin, what actually happened? Why do you look like the sky is going to cave in on us?”

Merlin took a deep breath. “Taliesin, the sorcerer showed me a cave. The Crystal Cave.”

“The one Uther was looking for?”

“Yes. He told me it was the birthplace of magic.” Lance looked at him as if he had grown another head.

“It’s a good thing Uther never found it then! But why would he pick now to show it to you?”

“The cave is full of crystals,” Merlin said, struggling to hold back the tears that threatened, “and they can show possible futures. I saw Morgana. We were all there, and, and-“

Merlin couldn’t hold them back any longer. He sank his head into his hands and just let the tears fall. Lance sat him down against a tree and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“Merlin, tell me what happened.”

“She - she was there, and she shot a fireball, no it was something else. Like, um, I don’t know, but it was so much worse, and it was aimed at Arthur. She looked so angry, so sad.”

“You said that was only a possible future through, right? So, we can prevent it from happening?”

“Uh, I guess? I don’t, I don’t know- “

“Merlin. We are not going to let that happen. Were there any landmarks? Something to help us recognise the place?”

“I’m not sure. I think it might have been somewhere in the Valley of Fallen Kings. I wasn’t really concentrating on the surroundings though. “

“Well, we’ve already passed through the Valley of the Fallen Kings, so as long as we made sure we don’t turn back, we should have to worry about it just yet. I don’t think we will have a problem with that either, Arthurs determined to get us to Gawant as fast as possible.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“Don’t worry about it now Merlin, you need some sleep.” Lancelot helped Merlin up and over to his bedroll, careful not to wake anyone else up.

Despite Lancelot’s plan to avoid the Valley of Fallen Kings, Merlin could not find it in himself to relax enough to go to sleep. _Come, on think of something else. _

He brought his mind back to Camelot. He wondered how everyone was doing. They had left Gwen to take care of things while they were gone. Since Arthur had crowned her Queen, she had certainly lifted the castle up. She ruled fairly and was not slow to set Arthur in his place when she thought he was doing something he might regret.  
Sometimes Merlin wondered why Arthur had not married her. They had loved each other once, and if Merlin knew any better he would say they still did. But Arthur seemed very sure of his decision.

_“Gwen is only a friend, a good friend but only that, and has been a long time, Merlin. We both know that we weren’t meant for each other – she loves Lancelot.”_

_“She loves you, Arthur!” Merlin had argued._

_“Perhaps she did before, but not anymore. And I don’t love her either. You told me I should marry for love, and that is what is I will do.”_

_“Listening to me for once, are you?”_

_“Don’t expect it to happen again,” Arthur said with a grin on his face. _

Gwaine had suggested that maybe Arthur loved someone else, and for some reason that sent a pang of sadness through him. Gwaine definitely called Merlin an idiot that day, and all the knights had agreed. Everyone knew Arthur loved Merlin, all except Merlin of course.

Merlin had ignored his feeling for years and doing anything else scared him. It was the same with his magic, he had spent his whole life lying to everyone he knew and suddenly he didn’t know how to live any other life. A life where everyone knew should be better, he knew it should, but he just couldn’t find it in himself to believe that it one hundred per cent would. There were always the doubts that popped up in his head telling him he would be someone completely different without the lies, someone who his friends might not like as much. He didn’t want to start drifting away from them.

Sometimes Merlin just wished that he had never left Ealdor. He would never have had to worry about any of this. Will would still be alive, Freya would still be alive, Balinor would still be alive, Morgana might not have betrayed them.

But Arthur might not be.

If he was being honest, it wasn’t coming here that was so bad. He just hated the destiny, all of the stupid things that he can’t tell anyone, all of the things that he had to do. He would give up all of the responsibilities, all of the duties in a second as long as Arthur was still safe. And as long as he could stay with him.

Perhaps Arthur was all that kept Merlin from giving up. His loyalty and his love for Arthur. Maybe Merlin just had to have some trust that it will all be worth it.


	3. Chapter 3

As soon as the sun had crossed the horizon and there was light, the party was riding. Arthur wanted to cross the border between Gawant and Camelot by midday, then they would reach the mountains by nightfall. With any luck, they would reach the city before midday tomorrow.

Arthur was still on edge after the incident. He kept looking back at Merlin, as if he thought he would just vanish again. Sometimes Arthur just wished he could stick Merlin in a room and just keep him there forever, always out of danger. Of course, Merlin just had to love running into danger, and often there was nothing Arthur could do about it. It was scary to think that one day Merlin might get himself into trouble even he can’t deal with. No, it wasn’t scary. It was absolutely mind-numbingly terrifying.

Of course, he could never tell Merlin that. He would think he was enchanted and drag him to Gaius.

So he hurried the group along as fast as he possibly could. He wanted them out of danger as soon as possible. Arthur had vowed to himself that if he ever saw that sorcerer again, he was going to kill him. Merlin could have been dead for all he knew!

How Gwen would be laughing. Two hours without Merlin and Arthur had been completely and utterly shattered in pieces.

It was nearing midday when they reached the border.

“We’re crossing into Gawant border now,” Arthur announced.

“Maybe we should take a break soon, have a rest,” Gwaine said, not bothering to hide it when he looked at Merlin as he spoke. Merlin was not used to hard riding, in fact, he hardly ever rode except when he joined Arthur on expeditions such as these. He looked completely exhausted.

“Good idea Gwaine,” Arthur said.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Arthur was more than happy with their time, they could easily be in the city just after midday tomorrow if they kept up the pace. Arthur did feel bad about pushing Merlin so hard, but he wanted to get out of danger as soon as possible.

When they reached the castle the next day, the weather had taken a turn for the worse. Clouds sprawled across the sky, blocking the sunlight and what little warmth existed in the first place. It had rained earlier in the day, and now Merlin and the knights rode in silence.

Merlin decided he was sick of this trip. He just wanted to go home and sleep. With all the worrying that his brain decided he needed to do, he hadn’t slept much at all. His whole body hurt from the cruel pace Arthur set and the hard ground they had slept on, and now his clothes were all wet. There was no point changing into the other set he had brought either, the clouds were still a dark grey, threatening to drop on them soon. He just hoped they reached the castle soon. Perhaps Arthur would take pity on him and let him sleep.

By the time they did reach the castle, it was past midday and everyone in the party was irritable and frustrated.

It had rained on them twice since, each time growing longer. More rain clouds just kept rolling in, just waiting for the perfect opportunity to make the day even worse. The group hurried into the castle, where they were greeted by Lord Godwyn and Princess Elena.

After the greetings were over, they were led to their chambers for the duration of their stay. Merlin made quick work of removing Arthurs armour, then dragged it over to the table to start cleaning as Arthur ran off to the council room.

As per usual, Merlin worked slowly and carefully on Arthur’s armour, hammering out every dent and polishing ever buckle until they shone, carefully weaving protection spells into the metal. It felt weird knowing that he was actually allowed to do that during his stay here, magic being legal and all.

Merlin couldn’t wait for tomorrow, where he would probably have a chance to wander the town a bit. He was excited to see what it was like in a place that allowed magic. Ealdor technically allowed it, but being so close to the border of Camelot, Uther’s policies had an influence over the townspeople.

Merlin planned to go down to the markets and have a look around. He was excited to see the magical wares, although he knew he couldn’t buy anything. Arthur would never let anything that may even remotely be or contain magic into Camelot. He was too much like his father sometimes.

When Merlin walked down to the kitchens in the morning in search of Arthur’s breakfast (gods this castle was so confusing), he stopped to quickly ask one of the serving girls the directions.

“Hey! Sorry, I’m here with King Arthur, would you mind pointing me to the kitchen?” he asked.

The serving girl turned around to look at him. Her eyes widened at the sight of him.

“Your Emrys!” Merlin panicked.

“Um, no – no, I think you're mistaking me for someone else. Um, gotta go, bye!” He picked up the pace, almost running through the halls, but the girl ran after him.

“Please, wait!” Merlin slowed to a stop. There was no way he was getting out of this.

“You can’t tell anyone,” he whispered to her. “Please, Arthur can’t know!”

The girl considered his words, frowning. “You know Arthur will not change unless you give him a reason to.”

Merlin cringed. He knew of the druid’s prophecies – that Merlin would convince the Once and Future King to bring back magic. This was so stupid – how could they expect one person to change everything?

“Please, he hates magic. If he finds out he will kill me!”

“Do you really think that?”

“Please, he can’t know.”

“I will keep your secret, but you know there are other druids who will wonder the same as I?”

Merlin’s heart sank. “Please, can you talk to some of them? If Arthur found out…”

The serving girl saw his distress. “I will.”

“Thank you.” Merlin found he could breathe again. As he was about to leave, he remembered what he had come to ask her about in the beginning. “Um, can you please give me some directions to the kitchens?”

She told him, and then he found himself alone in the corridor as she walked away. He took a breath and moved to follow the given directions.

Merlin opened the door to Arthur’s temporary room and set the tray on the table.

“Up and at 'em, sire,” he said.

Arthur had already been awake from the moment Merlin walked in (he usually was – he loved listening to Merlin’s morning wake up calls). When he heard Merlin’s distracted, troubled voice he shot out of bed and looked over to Merlin.

“What’s got you down today?” He asked, hiding the concern in his voice as best he could.

“Nothing, I’m fine,” Merlin mumbled. He opened the curtains with a little too much force for Arthur’s liking, before walking over to the wardrobe for the clothes he had unpacked yesterday.

Arthur walked up to Merlin. “Somethings wrong, what’s happened? Please tell me no one has done anything – “

“Arthur, it's fine. Just a little frustrated by this confusing castle.” He turned and gave Arthur a smile that anyone else would pick for genuine. Of course, Arthur had known Merlin far too long to be fooled by it.

“You know you can tell me anything, right?”

“Arthur, nothing happened. It's just been a couple of long days. Not used to travelling I guess.”

Immediately Arthur felt bad for pushing Merlin so hard. “Of course. After you help me dress you can head down to the town, I know you wanted to have a look around.”

“Thank you, Arthur. You sure you won’t need me?”

“I’m sure. Just make sure you don’t accidentally buy anything magical.”

“I’ll be careful,” Merlin said, suppressing the sadness that filled his heart at that statement.

Merlin quickly dressed Arthur and they both went their separate ways. Merlin was still a little weary of the fact that he may be recognised, but hopefully, no one from Camelot would be around. He hoped the serving girl’s promise to let other druids know about the secrecy would help him avoid any confrontations, but he knew that it was still likely to happen.

When Merlin reached the town, he headed straight to the markets. It was located in a square, now covered in canvas tents and little stalls all covered in fruits and bread, little trinkets, items of clothing, utensils, and everyone one could imagine to ever buy.

He stopped to watch people as they put on shows of magic. A man had a small fire in front of him, and for the price of a silver coin he would conjure up little shows in the flames. Merlin watched as he created a fiery red dragon that flew, leaving trails of sparks and flames as it moved in the fire. The red embers shone from the fireplace and lit up the dirt floor beneath it. His heart lifted as he watched the dragon spit fire and smoke, the laughter of the small children that sat and watched making his heart ache a little and he suddenly wished that Camelot was like this.

He wished that he could put on such shows. The man didn’t have much power – if Merlin wanted, he could make the flame dragon fly through the market square. He could imagine the children running after it, screaming playfully, never scared as it perched on their shoulders at Merlin command and just sat, smoking but never burning. He could imagine creating little flowers and toys for the children from dead roots, carefully breathing life into them and shaping them.

That was Merlin’s favourite magic. His ability to grow a plant from very little, to shape its form and breathe life into it – Merlin loved that. Gaius had told him that he was unique in this skill, that it shouldn’t even be possible. That had scared him at the time, but he had come to terms with it.

While he was there, he watched a few more performances and bought a few things. One of them was a book of magic – a rare book that covered druid prophecies, healing spells and a collection of more advanced spells. He had already cast a spell on it to make it look like a book on herbs and other non-magical healing techniques. It was quite a powerful spell, it would hold for centuries if need be. He also acquired some small trinkets – a little glass bird for Gwen, a mortar and pestle made of rock with streaks of silver for Gaius.

It was only when he felt a small pang of dark magic from the castle that he drew himself out of the joyous mood that he was in. Panic flared up as he felt it – the afterglow was clearly concealed by the sorcerer. No one else would notice.

He hurried, running to the direction of the magic. He raced through the cold white halls, his legs flying over the tiles as he pushed past servants, following the fading sense of magic. When he found the source, his heart sank. He thrust open the doors of the council chamber and hurried in just in time to see a sorcerer standing in front of the table, his arm outstretched, tendrils of magic reaching to the very edges of the room.

“Did you really think you could come here, where the people your father slaughtered ran to?!” the sorcerer screamed.

Merlin stepped into the room just as she began casting her spell. He panicked.

“Ic þé wiþdrífe!” Merlin shouted.

He watched as the sorcerer was shot back into the wall behind her. There was a loud crack against the dead silence in the room.

Merlin looked back to the table. His heart sank.

Arthur stared straight at him, horror in his eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

Arthur stared straight at him, horror in his eyes.

Merlin realised what he had just done. Right in front of Arthur, the king of Camelot, he had just used magic. Violently.

He subconsciously took a few steps back. It was all over. Everything he had worked for – gone. Arthur knew and now he would never trust him again. Merlin had always thought destiny had messed up, now he knew it for certain. Merlin could not help Arthur bring back magic if he was dead. And after this he most certainly was.

Arthur knew the moment Merlin had realised what he had done because his face turned white and he started shaking. Arthur got out of his chair, breaking the terrifying silence that crowded the room and stole all the air from his lungs, the chair scraping against the floor as he stood.

Merlin panicked. Arthur was going to kill him, he was going to _hate_ him. For some reason, the thought of Arthur hating him was so much worse. So out of a lack of any other options, he ran.

He barely heard Arthur’s shouts as he did – he just ran as fast as his feet could move, sprinting past the servants and the lords that walked past, the echoes of his feet as they hit the floor, filling up his head. He couldn’t hear anything and soon he couldn’t see anything because tears just sprung from his eyes and wouldn’t stop coming and he just couldn’t stop crying and crying and running and thinking about how terrible it is that Arthur now hates him and hates him and _hates_ him -

Merlin didn’t register when he reached the front of the castle, he didn’t even feel the grass under his feet as he ran into the town. It was just cold, and he was tired and now his legs felt like they were on _fire_, but he couldn’t stop because Arthur hated him and wanted him dead.

Eventually, his legs just gave way beneath him and he crumpled onto the undergrowth. He found himself in the forest, all alone, with only aching limbs and enough self-hatred for the whole world.

He couldn’t find in himself to move from where he lay, so he just stayed there, letting the damp grass soak his thin clothes. He just laid there and waited.

As soon as Merlin had taken the first step out of the room, Arthur had panicked.

“MERLIN!” he shouted, but by the time it came out of his mouth Merlin was gone. He cursed at Merlin’s speed and ran after him.

He couldn’t help but feel a little betrayal, after all, Merlin must have been lying to him for years. That sort of magic took practice.

He mostly felt sad though. Upset at himself when he realised that his Camelot was and has never been a safe place for Merlin, and that was his fault.

Merlin could have died. The law says he should.

Merlin cannot die. Arthur would jump on the pier first.

Arthur soon reached a fork – the hallway split into two paths and Merlin was nowhere in sight. Arthur glanced around and saw Gwaine and Leon running up to him.

“Arthur,” they started as they slowed their pace until they came to a stop next to him, “Arthur you’re not going to hurt him, are you?”

“What?!” Arthur exclaimed, completely surprised by the question. “I would never do that!”

“Arthur, he had magic and that illegal in Camelot,” Leon said.

“I don’t care about that! He saved my life!” Arthur surprised himself by saying. But if Merlin had magic, surely it can’t it all evil? 

Gwaine smiled. “Good. Just needed to hear that before we continued. Come on, we have to find him!”

Leon turned to a passing servant, “Did you see a servant running past here? It would have been less than a minute ago.”

“Yes sire, he was heading that way,” she said, pointing to the left path. The three of them quickly headed in that direction.  
It reached an hour that they had spent combing through the castle and the town, with the help of all of the other knights. Lord Godwyn had quickly found them and had offered his knights when he realised how much this servant meant to Arthur. So now the knights of Gawant searched the castle and the knights of Camelot the town, all under clear instruction to tell Merlin that Arthur did not want him dead if they found him.

When it had occurred to Arthur that Merlin could think that Arthur would ever even think of having him killed it broke his heart. He didn’t blame him for thinking that, now that he thought about it. He had said some pretty terrible things about magic before, most of them in front of Merlin.  
Gods, he had to fix this.

It reached two hours with no sign of Merlin when they ventured into the forests. They had all hoped he wouldn’t have left the borders of the town, but they had left very little unsearched. Everyone could tell Arthur was panicking – everyone who tried to talk to him had to repeat themselves three times before he got his head out of his worry-filled clouds to listen to them. He paced and walked faster than necessary. He snapped at even his own knights.

Luckily, it was only ten minutes into the search in the forest when Gwaine found him.

“Arthur! I’ve found him!!”

Arthur came running behind Gwaine, only to stop as he saw Merlin lying unconscious on the floor. His clothes were soaked and covered in dirt. The sight made Arthur’s heart stop beating for a moment.

“I’ll bring him to the physician, you stop the search,” Arthur told Gwaine. With a small nod, Gwaine ran off to find the other knights.

Arthur quickly picked Merlin up, wincing at how light he was. He swallowed down the sadness that had sprung up in his heart and headed towards the castle. In that very moment, he felt like the worst person on the planet.

When Merlin woke up, it was to warmth. He could feel the weight of multiple blankets on him, and a fire must be going because the air was just so _warm_. 

But that didn’t make sense. He wasn’t sure why, but he just felt like it wasn’t right. Then the memories of yester came tumbling down, dragging him down with them.

Last he remembered, he was in a forest. One in Gawant. And Arthur hated him. Wanted him dead.

He opened his eyes. He most certainly was covered in blankets, and he could see the glow of the fire from the other side of the room. This looked like a physician’s chambers.

“Ah, you're awake,” a voice called out. Merlin sat up and turned his head towards the sound, where he saw a man that looked to be only a few years older than him. “I’m Gawant’s Physician.”

He walked over to the table as grabbed a small bottle. He handed it to Merlin. He immediately sensed the healing magic on it and drank it. The fogginess in his head that he didn’t even realise was there disappeared.

“You gave the king of Camelot quite a fright. He’s been fretting ever since they found you.”

Merlin shot up, suddenly remembering Arthur.

“Calm down, it's ok. He asked me to tell you when you woke that he did not hate you or want you dead. He seemed extremely upset that anyone would ever think he did.”

Merlin laughed. “I can’t count the number of times he told me magic corrupted. That it was horrible all sorcerers should be dead.”

Merlin turned back around and laid back down, trying to hide the tears that had sprung up again. He settled under the blankets and tried to calm the raging storm of emotions in his head.

The physician frowned at this. Maybe it was best if the King told him this himself. He turned and opened the door, asking a passing servant to let the King of Camelot know that Merlin was awake. Knowing the man’s reaction to his servant’s state before, he would come immediately.

And he was not wrong, because only minutes later he came running into the room. He saw Merlin huddled under the blankets and walked up to him.

“Merlin?” he asked, putting his hand on the tiny bit of Merlin’s arm that stuck out of the blankets.

Merlin immediately flinched back and scrambled out of the blankets.

“Merlin! Please, I’m not going to hurt you,” he said, his heart falling at the look of terror on Merlin’s face. His words must have meant something though because he stopped moving and looked directly at Arthur. “Merlin, please. I’m so sorry for everything I’ve said. Please, I don’t care that you have magic –“

“What?!” Merlin exclaimed.

Arthur gave a weak smile. “Well, it can't be so bad if you have it, can it?”

Merlin spluttered. This couldn’t be happening. This is a dream, or something. It had to be – Arthur would never say that. 

Seeing his confusion, Arthur sighed and pulled Merlin into a hug. “We’ll talk about this later. Go to sleep, you look exhausted, despite your little sleep in the forest.”

Merlin decided to follow the advice, and he fell asleep in Arthur’s arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: I managed to lose my USB, which had this fic and the next chapter, so it might be a bit before I'm able to update.
> 
> If I can't find it soon, I'll probably rewrite the chapter. 
> 
> Sorry guys.


	5. Chapter 5

When Arthur got up the next day, both he and Merlin were back in his chambers, Merlin still fast asleep in the antechamber. He let out a little smile when he got up and checked on him, before creeping out and closing the door quietly. He still felt terrible about what had happened two days ago.

Despite what everyone had thought apparently, Arthur did not exactly hate magic. Sure, he felt uneasy about it and a little suspicious, but he knew that was from a lifetime of sorcerers still bitter and angry towards his father, and rightfully so, he supposed. Now that he knew Merlin was a sorcerer, he knew for certain that magic was not as terrible as his father had made to out to be.

While Merlin was sleeping, he had talked to Lord Godwyn, and they had discussed the matter of magic. They had both felt a little uneasy about the treaty between the two kingdoms, as both had very different laws on many things, one of those being magic. Although they did not plan to change the already written treaty, after all, magic was not yet legal, Arthur hoped soon they would have to opportunity to do just that. But neither he nor the kingdom was ready for that just yet.

Merlin woke just after midday, when Arthur was at the desk, looking through a stack of papers scattered haphazardly. Merlin had opened the door to the main room slowly, and as quietly as possible. If he was being honest, he didn’t want to face Arthur just yet. He was terrified that Arthur had only said what he had last night so that Merlin wouldn’t run again. It’s a little hard to drag a sorcerer back to Camelot to be executed if they are missing, he supposed.

But despite the fact that Merlin had put very little force on the door, Arthur spun around the moment he stuck his head out a little.

“Merlin! Took you long enough to wake,” Arthur said as he walked over to Merlin. He reached out and opened the door the rest of the way. He quickly noticed Merlin’s shaking hands and terrified face, his gaze directed at the floor, and immediately softened. “Merlin, I’m not going to hurt you.”

Merlin didn’t say anything, not quite believing him.

Arthur put a hand on his shoulders and directed him over to the bed. “Merlin, I’ve been thinking a bit about magic recently. Recently as in before all of this happened. It took me a while, but I guess I realised that no sorcerer in their right mind would come to Camelot unless they sought revenge against my father. Well besides you, you idiot. By the way, I want a full explanation on that and a promise that you won’t do anything so stupid ever again but that can wait.” He paused, watching the confusion manifest on Merlin’s face. He continued.

“So, I guess I’ve missed seeing or hearing anything good about magic. I did a bit of thinking today as well,“ Arthur said, waiting for the insult that was always said at this point, but there was no answer. He frowned but continued, “and I’m not going to tell anyone. Neither will the knights, I’ll make sure of it. I also think its high time that I get to know the rest of you, the part you’ve been hiding for so long.”

At this Merlin couldn’t hold it any longer. He burst into tears.

He felt so conflicted. It all felt so unreal – he couldn’t find it in himself to believe Arthur, no matter how desperately he wanted to. Gods, he wanted to believe him. He wanted so bad to think that Arthur finally accepted him for his magic, finally knew who he really was.

But that seemed too good to be true.

“Shh, Merlin, its ok,” Arthur said as he drew Merlin in for a hug. Surprisingly, to both Merlin and Arthur, he didn’t stop him. He let his head fall to Arthur’s chest and he just bawled his eyes out. “I will not let anything happen to you, Merlin. And I don’t care what anyone else says, you’re still Merlin and that’s not going to change because you can use magic.”

Merlin decided to let himself, even if only for a while, believe Arthur.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, his voice muffled by Arthur’s shirt and his own lack of confidence.

“You have nothing to apologise for.”

They just held each other for a while, until Merlin’s tears ran dry and longer still. Arthur would never tire of Merlin in his arms, although his heart ached to know that it was only happening on the event that Merlin was crying. How he wished for this to be every day. How lovely it would be to wake up in Merlin’s arms, for him to be the first thing he saw in the mornings. Then they would smile at each other and just not move, because who would ever want to get up when he held heaven in his hands?

When they finally broke apart, it was so Merlin could rub his itchy eyes. Arthur stood, taking the opportunity to send for a plate of lunch for Merlin. He then sat back down on the bed with him, saying nothing as Merlin wiped at his eyes.

“Merlin, why did you come to Camelot?” he finally asked. He had wanted the answer to this question from the moment he had seen Merlin’s magic.

“Umm, well, Ealdor wasn’t exactly safe for me. I’ve had my magic since I was born, and I guess it’s a little hard to keep a secret at that age. I never really fit in. Ealdor might have been out of Camelot, but it was certainly influenced by the laws. Mother knew Gaius, so she sent me to him. She hoped I could manage to keep my magic a secret.” He let out a shaky laugh, still trying to wipe at tears that weren’t actually there anymore. “I guess I didn’t do a very good job of that.”

Arthur opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by the knocking on the door. He walked over to it and collected Merlin’s lunch. He set it down on Merlin’s lap, still on the bed, and sat down again.

“I didn’t know it was possible to be born with magic,” Arthur said.

“It is. Anyone born with it is called a warlock, or a witch.” His face suddenly dropped as he said, “Morgana was one.”

“Oh,” Arthur said.

Merlin reached for a piece of chicken, and slowly chewed on it. To be honest, he felt nauseous and was slightly concerned he would throw it up, but he knew Arthur would want him to try.

He knew he was right when Arthur smiled at the sight. He grabbed a larger piece and began eating that one as well, suddenly wishing to ensure that smile stayed where it was. Arthur had been so worried, even before Merlin had been forced to reveal his magic, and he felt a little smug that it was him who was able to make Arthur smile again. The nausea quickly faded, he supposed it must have only been a product of his worrying and a lack of food.

When he finished, Arthur put the tray down on the desk. Merlin got up and grabbed Arthur's armor – he needed to do something.

“Merlin, you don’t have to do that, I could get someone else to – “

“No, it's ok. I want to.”

“Ok then, just – ok.” Arthur sat down at his desk and they both worked in silence before a messenger came to tell them it was almost time for the signing of the treaty. They both stood, and after a moment headed off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys really sorry but it might be a few days before i'm able to update again.
> 
> My computer just deleted every single one of my saved fanfics (including a couple i started but hadnt posted) so the chapter i just finished will have to be rewritten. 
> 
> I've also got exams at the moment but I'll probably write instead of doing those anyway.
> 
> ALSO WE HIT 2000 VIEWS WHATTT  
THANKYOU YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one more chapter! 
> 
> Also, 200 kudos?? Almost 2500 views??  
You guys are the best.

The signing of a treaty is always boring, it is just two people signing a document after all, but the worst part was the feast that always occurred afterwards.

This time was far worse than normal. Everyone kept staring at him, and he heard whispers from the noble ladies and servants alike. At least the servant tried to hide it; Merlin was not their spectacle to gaze at, he was just a servant! He knew it was because he was Arthur’s servant and because he had powerful magic. He supposed that must be a weird thing to see, with everything they had probably heard about Camelot. And he wasn’t dead because of it. That was probably a surprise.

Or maybe it was the fact that Arthur would just turn and have a conversation with him as he passed him, as though he was a friend rather than a servant. Merlin had almost forgotten that this was not a normal thing, it was never mentioned in the castle anymore. There was no Arthur without Merlin trotting behind and acting as though he was a trusted adviser. He supposed he almost was: most of the councillors listened to what he had to say, and by that, he meant they listened to Arthur when he repeated Merlin’s ideas after he had suggested them to Arthur quite obviously. He also had the respect of all of the knights, and at times practically ran the castle.

But it was a bit different here. He was just another servant, well, besides the magic thing. That might put a little bit of a damper on things back in Camelot. But Arthur had promised him no one would know.

When the feast was over, Merlin almost ran back to Arthur’s chambers. He was so sick of the looks and just the general atmosphere of the entire castle. He was tired of avoiding the looks of the druids who enjoyed the feast, constantly looking over to him as if they thought he would suddenly reveal himself as Emrys. Which he would not.

That was another thing he would have to discuss with Arthur soon, he really didn’t want to keep any more secrets after Arthur finding out about his magic. The whole Emrys and dragonlord things might be a bit much straight after though. He’d wait until they were back in Camelot, he decided. Maybe the familiar environment would make it a little easier to just talk to Arthur. Or it might do the opposite. Well, whatever it did, he promised he would tell Arthur the moment they were alone.

They set out for Camelot the next morning. Everyone was in a good mood, understandable as the singing of the treaty went so well.

Merlin’s just happy to be on the way back to Camelot. He’s missed everyone back home; he just wants to go back to his duties and pretend everything is normal again. He suspects that that may never be possible.

That definitely becomes apparent when they begin to set up camp for the night. Merlin’s just set down a stack of kindling, and he’s trying to get the fire lit. The flint must hate him though because, after minutes of trying, the fire just won’t light.

“Why don’t you just light it with magic?” Arthur says from behind Merlin.

“What?!” Merlin exclaims, shocked. Arthur may not want to kill him (a little voice in his head questions if that’s true), but surely he didn’t want him using magic?

“Come on Merlin, we all know about it. Plus, it might be good to finally see some magic that isn’t trying to kill us.” Merlin releases a shaky laugh but is still unsure.

“Are you sure?”

“Come on Merlin, just do it already.”

So Merlin lifts his right hand, his palm facing the uncooperative stack of wood. With a flash of gold, the fire lights itself. Merlin concentrates on building it higher, and within moments is able to throw some larger logs in. That would last them all night if they put a few more in when they went to sleep. He set the pot of water over it to boil then looked over to Arthur, who was still standing there.

“You didn’t say any spells.”

“I don’t usually need them,” Merlin said, suddenly realising he could have been a little more subtle. It probably wasn’t a very good idea to flaunt his magic the moment he got the chance. But it was too late now.

“Merlin, just how powerful are you?” Arthur asked, the look of shock and a little confusion still plastered on his face.

“Um – a little powerful? I guess.”

“That’s not an answer!” Arthur folded his arms and Merlin gulped.

“Um, well, the druids have a prophecy thing, they call me Emrys. I don’t know why, they just – “

“Merlin, you’re babbling. Answer the question.”

“I’m supposed to be the most powerful sorcerer to ever walk the earth. Or something, I mean they could be wrong – “

Arthur put his hand out to silence Merlin. He rubbed his face and groaned.  
“So you apparently are important enough to have a prophecy about you, and you’re are the most powerful sorcerer ever?”

“Maybe? But clearly, the prophecy thing doesn’t mean much ‘cause they have one about you too, dollophead!”

“They what?”

Merlin explained the prophecy, avoiding the bits about Morgana and Mordred. That was a story for another time.

“So what, I’m supposed to bring back magic? And unite all of Albion?” Arthur said, looking very sceptical.

“As far as I know.”

“And how do I know you’re not just trying to get me to bring back magic because you have it?”

Merlin’s heart fell and the voice he had tried so hard to banish came back. He turned his head away and mumbled, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have told you.” He fought back the tears that threatened and got working on the stew. He started digging through the bag next to him for some vegetables to start preparing.

Arthur regretted his words the moment he said them. He could just make out Merlin’s voice when he spoke, but the words still stung at his heart. He suddenly realised why Merlin found all of this so difficult to say to him. Why Merlin never ever told him, despite them knowing each other for so many years. Sure, he knew it was because he was supposed to hate magic, but it never seemed like a good enough reason because he didn’t exactly _hate_ magic. But now he realised why.

“Merlin, I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have said that!” He put his hand on Merlin’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. This has all just been a bit of a shock.”

Merlin didn’t resist when Arthur pushed on his shoulder, gently turning him around. He wiped the tears away, suddenly embarrassed now that Arthur could see him.

“It’s ok.”  
Arthur let out a little smile. “So, any other secrets you’ve been keeping?” he said as a joke. He only realised he had messed up when Merlin’s face fell, and he looked away again. “Merlin, please, whatever it is, I promise I won’t get angry.” Merlin let out a breath and turned back around.

“Balinor was my father.” At Arthur’s shocked gasp he continued. “I didn’t know before – Gaius told me just before we left. And then he died, and…”

Arthur put a comforting hand on Merlin’s shoulder.

“And his powers kind of transferred to me, I guess. Um, you didn’t kill the dragon. But I sent him away - he can never come back to Camelot,” Merlin added.

Arthur took a moment to think about everything. It just didn’t seem right, he still couldn’t get it into his head that _Merlin_ of all people had this power. He was both the most powerful sorcerer and the last dragonlord – Arthur wondered for a moment how different this new Merlin was to the old one. But for some reason, the two seemed so identical.

“Never keep secrets from me again, you idiot.”

Merlin's face broke into a smile. He was beaming, just so happy to hear that and not anything else. “I promise!” he said.

“Great. So if there’s ever a magical problem in the kingdom, I want to know about it.”

Merlin nodded in enthusiastic agreement. He could do that much if it meant Arthur accepting him.

They continued the journey as though nothing had ever happened. Well, not exactly. For the next two nights, Merlin lit the fire with magic, and to Arthur’s delight, it made him smile like an idiot. He looked so cute when he was that happy, and the warm gold that lit up his eyes looked so _right_.

It was on the last day of their journey, and the party had just packed up camp and set off. Everyone was buzzing with excitement – they would be back in Camelot in a few hours. Not a single person was afraid to admit that they missed the familiar halls of the castle and the company of the friends they had left behind. Merlin was so excited to go tell Gaius about everything – it just felt so damn good to know that he wasn’t alone with his magic anymore, so many more people knew about it now. So they all rode ahead.

Suddenly a blast of magic shot Merlin from his horse and onto the ground. He narrowly avoided hitting his head, and when he turned towards the party, he noticed most of the knights had suffered the same fate. Suddenly a familiar voice sounded.

“Nice you see you again, brother dear.”


	7. Chapter 7

“Nice you see you again, brother dear.”

“What do you want, Morgana?” Arthur said, after scrambling up from the grass beneath him.

“Oh, hush brother, I’m not here for you.” She walked past Arthur, her magic holding him still as to avoid him attacking her. Merlin stood, suspecting where this was going.

She walked up to Merlin, who stood his ground and didn’t move. Morgana gave him a small smile as he cast the same spell on the knights, who all began to run towards the two when they realised it was Merlin that Morgana wanted.

“You know Merlin, I heard an interesting thing recently. Apparently _you_ have magic?” She laughed. “At first I didn’t believe it. I mean you’ve been accused of having magic many times.

“But then, I kept hearing it. From trusted sources.” She paused. “You know what Merlin? You poisoned me. You tried to kill me multiple times, you had no problem sacrificing me to save your friends. I thought that was just because you hated magic too. So what, did you just hate me?”

“I had no choice. There was no other way to end the curse on the castle!” Merlin said.

“You keep telling yourself that! Keep lying if you wish, if it makes you sleep better at night. I don’t know how you sleep at all. You have betrayed your own kind!”

Merlin did not answer.

Morgana laughed. “So you know it’s true, then. But that won’t help you.” She reached her hand out and her eyes glowed bright.

Merlin dodged the fireball thrown his way, and sent one straight back, one that was bigger and faster, but Morgana easily reflected it. Suddenly Merlin felt a pain in his chest – he could no longer breath. Gasping and fighting against Morgana’s magic, he flung pure power at her, not directing it in any way. It was an attack he only sent because of panic – he had never tried such a thing before.

Morgana screamed as the ground beneath her exploded in a cloud of dust. Merlin quickly moved all of the frozen knights out of the way of the blast, and then sent another fireball into the cloud. I stopped mid-air, Morgana attempting to take control of the magic. So Merlin improvised.

Letting go of the fireball, he concentrated all the magic he could possibly muster into one ball of pure energy, just like before but a hundred times more. He quickly sent it Morgana’s way but did not have enough time to stop the fireball before it hit him straight in the chest.

To Arthur and all of the knights, the battle was short and bloody. There were only a few attacks from each side before it ended with Merlin’s attack. The earth then seemed to split into two, and all of the knights felt the bonds holding them still disappear. They jumped up and ran over to the field, or what was left of it.

Everything was gone – the trees flattened, the grass and shrubs reduced to charred pieces of ash mixed in with dirt and to Arthur’s horror, blood. As the clouds of ash and dust reduced, Arthur spotted Morgana’s body. Or what was left of it.

Arthur had never been one to feel sick at the sight of a body, and yet the sight of Morgana turned his stomach inside out. He quickly looked away, but then noticed Merlin.

With a shout, he ran over to him. He was nowhere near as bad as Morgana, but the fireball had left a scoring black mark on his chest. The smell of burning flesh was what finally pushed Arthur over the edge. He vomited over the floor, then wiped his mouth and turned back to Merlin. The knights were all at his side now, but it looked like some had had the same reactions as him.

“We have to get him back to Camelot,” Arthur said, carefully lifting up the fallen boy.

“Gwaine ran to find the horses sire,” Percival said. Arthur looked around, and sure enough, Gwaine was gone.

“Good. Elyan, go help him. We need to be back there _now_.”

Minutes later they rode off as fast as the horses could go without hurting Merlin more. Arthur had the boy in his arms, he looked anything but peaceful. His breathing was laboured, his face growing paler by the moment. He was not bleeding, as the charred flesh had cauterized the wound, but that was probably the only positive thing Arthur could find in the whole situation. Merlin’s heart rate jumped between too fast and much to slow; Arthur worried that he would not last the hour’s ride back to Camelot.

When Merlin woke, it was to a huge pain in his chest and his head. He could feel hands on his body, but he couldn’t make sense of what they were doing. He thought he heard voices too, but that might have just been his imagination. His head was pounding, and he felt like someone had stuffed one of Arthur’s tunics in his lungs. He couldn’t seem to focus long enough to even think. 

He couldn’t tell how many times he woke only to exhaust himself trying to move or speak or even just breath, but it was three days later when Gaius managed to keep him awake for longer than a few minutes at a time.

Arthur was there with him, right by his side as Gaius fed him tonic after tonic. They tried to get him to eat some broth, but he couldn’t concentrate long enough to even swallow more than a few mouthfuls. Everything hurt so _bad_.

It was the next day in which he was fully awake. Everything still hurt, gods it hurt so bad, but Gaius’ painkillers made it much better than before. He even managed a whole bowl of the stew this time.

Arthur walked over to his bedside. The last few days had been hell for him, constantly worrying. They had almost lost Merlin twice.

But now he was the most awake he had been since the incident. Gaius assured Arthur that Merlin would live, as long as he did not move from the bed. Arthur had never felt so much relief before in his life.

He had promised himself that the moment Merlin was awake enough to handle it, he would tell him he loved him. He couldn’t hide it any longer, not after everything that had happened. He just hoped Merlin shared his feels; if he didn’t, Arthur didn’t know what he would do.

Merlin tried to move to a more comfortable position, but the moment he tried both Arthur and Gaius came running over, immediately stopping him.

“Merlin, please don’t move. You can’t agitate your wound,” Gaius said.

Merlin nodded.

“Merlin, you scared us all. When we reached you after… please don’t do it ever again.”

Merlin smiled. “Yeah, I think I’ll give this a pass next time.”

“I mean it, Merlin. I couldn’t bear it if you died.”

Merlin blinked in shock. Arthur was never a very emotional person, and Merlin felt a little honoured. He could see Arthur holding back his tears.

“Don’t worry, I’ll pick an easier opponent next time,” Merlin joked. Arthur gave a small smile.

Suddenly, Merlin felt Arthur’s lips on his. He gave a small gasp in surprise, but Arthur swallowed it up with another kiss. Once he recovered from the initial surprise, he kissed him back, matching the passion as best he could in his state.

When it ended, Merlin gave a small whine. He saw Arthur’s smile when he opened his eyes again, and the very sight of it filled his stomach with butterflies.

“I mean it, Merlin, you are never allowed to get hurt ever again.”

Merlin gave a smile. “I’ll try my best sire.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know the kissing is a little short and could be better, but as an asexual, it was a little weird to write even those few sentences (or was it one? I'm not checking).
> 
> BUT GUYS THIS IS THE END. THANKS FOR READING. I LOVE YOU ALL.


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